Harriet Harperson has claimed that the age that we retire at needs a shake up.
She claims that people should work after they reach 65,so that they don`t feel past it.
I think that as people are living longer that this is probably not a bad idea.
Any thoughts?

I think it's a good idea in general but I'm afraid I'm far too cynical about the intentions of the current government to accept this as anything other than a plan to try to blag a closure of the massive pension gap in the UK.

Harriet Harperson has claimed that the age that we retire at needs a shake up.
She claims that people should work after they reach 65,so that they don`t feel past it.
I think that as people are living longer that this is probably not a bad idea.
Any thoughts?

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I like the idea of having the option to retire at 60 but allowed to work as long as you are able. Your own choice.

I think this may be a generation thing, my old man is nearly 80 and still does a 5 day week as a gardener, my granddad worked until he was in his 80's as well although this is/was more a survival thing. I also can't see me stopping at 65 I think mainly because I have worked since leaving school and would be lost without it.

However you have a lot of people who have never worked or have only worked for periods of their life and will try to take retirement at the earliest opportunity.

As long as there is not a bar on it and you still have all your faculties then why not, but it should be up to the individual and not mandatory.

She is loveley. Never done a days work in her life but is qualified to talk about it. For a start she should learn that it is very difficult to get any job after you are 50. The public sector being the worst offender.

Harriet Harperson has claimed that the age that we retire at needs a shake up.
She claims that people should work after they reach 65,so that they don`t feel past it.
I think that as people are living longer that this is probably not a bad idea.
Any thoughts?

Click to expand...

If a senior citzen wishes to work part time when they reach 65 ,And they feel that what they want to do Thats fair enough, But if our government give senior citzens more pension they would not have to work extra hours and would be able to enjoy their retirement

also perhaps if private pensions where not taxed when you pay into them and again when you recieve them, more people would start paying into a private penisions, and start to take early retirement, clearing the job market for the younger (and willing to work) people.

Worked from 16 to 65 , 22 years Army ,never been unemployed or claimed benefit , all planned to retire at 65 and spend most of the rest of our lives travelling and on holiday , so far managing to just what we planned . We've earnt it and are making the most of it.

Frankly I'm all in favour of people working past 65. (Never expected to agree with Harperson; I feel unclean.)

The state pension system as it currently stands is unaffordable. With an ageing population and declining birthrate we cannot afford to have people retire at 65 and then potentially live a further 10-30 years with a fixed income provided from taxation paid by those in employment.

People are living longer, and there is no reason for them to become economically inactive once they reach a certain age. If you can afford to live of a minimal state pension then great, enjoy retirement. If you have a decent private pension and can afford to live off it then great. If you have a less good pension, and need to supplement your income by doing some work, on your own terms, then why not.

The state pension is like other forms of welfare. It should be a safety net for those with no other way of providing for themselves. There is no reason for people to only have a state pension, and we should stop pretending having a state pension and a state pension alone is a responsible financial plan for later life.